Introduction to Tetra Master

Learn the basics of Tetra Master, Final Fantasy IX's card game. Discover how to play, card stats, arrows, battle classes, and strategies to win.

In Final Fantasy IX, you can challenge NPCs to a card game called Tetra Master. To start a game, approach an NPC with a card icon next to the interact prompt and press the designated button (Square/X/Y). You need at least five cards in your deck to play. Once you choose to play, you'll select five cards from your collection for the match. The game is played on a 4x4 board, which may have some spaces blocked by existing pieces, preventing card placement. A coin flip determines who goes first: orange means the opponent starts, while blue means you start. The main objective is to have more cards than your opponent by the end of the game, which lasts at least six turns. The winner captures one card from the loser's hand. A 'Perfect' occurs if a player captures all cards, taking all of the opponent's cards. A draw happens if both players end with an equal number of cards. If you lose a card, you can challenge the NPC to a rematch to try and win it back, as they often use the cards you lost. However, cards lost via a Perfect are permanently gone.

Each card has arrows on it, indicating attack directions. If an arrow points to an opponent's card without an arrow on that side, the opponent's card is automatically captured. If both cards have arrows facing each other, a battle ensues. In addition to arrows, cards have four stats ranging from 0-9 and A-F (F being the highest). These stats determine a card's capabilities:

• Strength: The card's overall power.
• Battle Class: Determines which defense stat is targeted. The classes are:
  • P: Physical class, attacks Physical Defense.
  • M: Magical class, attacks Magical Defense.
  • X: Attacks the lower of the two defense stats.
  • A: Attacks the lowest value on the card (Strength and Defense stats).
• Physical Defense: The card's defense against physical attacks.
• Magical Defense: The card's defense against magical attacks.

The numerical values for these stats have a range. For example, a Strength value of '4' means the actual strength can be anywhere between 064 and 079. The game randomly selects a value within this range during gameplay. The table below shows the range for each stat value:

When playing a match, choose five cards you believe are strong. While higher stats generally improve your chances, any card can potentially win due to the random nature of battles. If you play a card that targets multiple opposing cards with arrows, you choose which one to battle. When cards battle, their Strength, Class, and Defense stats are used. The game determines a random value within the Strength range for the attacker. This value is then compared against the defender's relevant defense stat (determined by the attacker's Battle Class), also within its random range. For instance, if an attacker has a Strength of '4' (range 064-079) and is a Physical class, and the defender has a Physical Defense of '2' (range 032-047), the game will pick a random number within each range for the battle.